Because I Care for You
by tbbookworm
Summary: This takes place after the Avengers, where Loki gets taken back to Asgard. What will his punishment be? This story contains the following: fluff, 'brotherly' love, eventually slash, and altogether Thorki. If you don't like it, then don't read it.
1. We Are Home At Last

"We are home at last, brother." Loki gave him a scorning look as they materialised back in the weapons vault, still holding the case with the Tesseract inside.

The Traitor was unable to say anything with the mask on his mouth, not to mention that his hands were bound to stop him from causing trouble. There was no surprise in this for the god.

"Come, we must place the Tesseract back in its rightful place." Loki had no choice but to follow Thor up the stairs and along another corridor to a set of golden double doors. The blonde looked the doors up and down before setting his hammer on them.

There was a faint click and the doors swung open, upon which Loki made a note to investigate them at a later date; maybe when he wasn't shackled like a prisoner. Thor led him inside, both of them still holding the case with one hand each.

The room was simple enough, stone instead of the original Asgardian gold that ran through the entire city. There was a silver pedestal in the middle of it, obviously where the Tesseract was supposed to rest.

Thor set his hammer on the ground it, now taking the case with both hands. At this time, the Traitor couldn't help but notice that the doors had closed behind them; whether this was intentional or not, he did not know. The son of Odin opened one end of the case carefully, sliding the cube out onto one hand.

He set the blue cube down in the pedestal, stepping away quickly as he was unsure what it would actually do. In the end, nothing happened and Thor instead turned to his brother.

"Father will be waiting for us in the throne room." Loki stared at him with a 'you have got to be kidding me' look, and attempted to cross his arms before he realized that he was still chained. His normal languid grace was impeded by his bonds, and he looked pleadingly at the god of thunder.

Thor knew that if he endured that look any longer, he would fall for letting his brother go when he had express orders from his father not to do so. But it would be so easy just to unlock the chains…

He shook his head and stormed out of the room, throwing the doors open and continuing on his way to the throne room. He knew without looking that Loki was following him, feeling his heart rise a little to know that he hadn't run away.

...

"Loki!"

The teenager looked up from the tome that he was browsing through, his face sombre. His brother was calling him from across the courtyard, waving and smiling. "Come join us in sparring!"

"No, thank you," he replied quietly as Thor came closer and he returned to his reading.

"Come now, you haven't done your training today." Loki refused to acknowledge the feeling that he got when he heard his brother talk. It was unnerving and it frightened him. He recognized this warmth, but he did nothing to quench it or study it.

"I will do it later, when I am finished."

"Then may I join you in your studying?" Thor didn't wait for an answer and sat down beside him on the stone bench. "I admit that I have studied at all today," he said with a grin, trying to grab the raven-haired boy's attention.

"It would be wise if you should start it elsewhere," said the teen, turning another page and attempting to remain passive.

"I much prefer staying in your company." Loki felt, with a jolt, his brother breathing on his cheek and he darted his eyes to look at him.

Thor's face was right beside his, apparently studying the book that he was holding. It was then that he could finally appraise his brother's face; the long, blonde hair that had been twisted in a braid for training; the deepest blue eyes that were the sea to Loki; and the thick jawline that was showing that the god was growing into manhood.

"Do you find something that you like?" whispered Thor, looking back up at him and grinning widely. He also laid a soft hand on Loki's arm gently, still smiling.

The shock of this and the thought of what his brother could really mean threw Loki into a panic; he slammed the book shut and stood up abruptly.

"I, I must go, there a-are other things that I must attend to." With these words, the teenage god began speedily walking across the courtyard, still managing to retain his gracefulness despite his shock.

Once inside the library, what he saw as his own safe place, he slipped quietly between the bookshelves to the back of the library. He leant against the wall, sliding down it as he covered his face.

Why had Thor chosen those exact words to say? Did he already know of what Loki felt and had decided to tease him? It was maddening, and the feeling inside was gradually growing stronger.

"Brother?" Loki half-choked, half-laughed as he heard Thor enter the library loudly, yelling. He would not alert the other to his presence, and instead muttered something, cloaking himself in darkness.

"Brother, I know that you hide here! I meant nothing by my words." The god still remained under his spell, listening close to what he was saying.

"Please, do not be offended by me. Let me at least apologize to you personally." Loki covered his mouth to stop himself from crying out as the blonde came looming around the corner, scanning the back wall carefully.

"You are here. I know it." Thor's eyes seemed to alight upon something more interesting and turned away; the raven-haired god let out a sigh of relief and his brother immediately turned back and picked him up by the arm.

Loki's spell unweaved itself and revealed him to his brother, and he looked at the ground in shame.

"Why did you hide from me?"

"I do not want to speak of it," he said, trying to break away from Thor's hold but being unsuccessful.

"I am sorry if I offended you earlier," said the blonde quietly. "I meant no disrespect."

"Why can't you just leave me be in peace?"

"You are my brother. I want you to always be by my side." This only served to enflame his younger brother's cheeks bright red, and this confused the god even further. "What bothers you?"

"_You_ are bothering me. Now leave me alone." Loki used a spell to break free of his brother and once again left the god by himself.

"But… I love you."


	2. For What I Have Done

"Loki." Odin All-Father was seated on his throne, looking even more aged from when the raven-haired god had last seen him. "You have committed crimes against Asgard. What do you say in your defence?"

Loki made an exasperating noise through his mask, glaring at his supposed king. Did Odin want to make a fool of him by stating his own stupidity?

"Father, you may want to remove the apparatus that restricts him from talking, as well as his chains."

"Do you agree not to attack me or any other in this room if I remove these items?" The god nodded, raising his wrists towards the king. Odin spoke a few quiet words and the bonds fell away, and the mask clattered to the floor.

"You do not know how glad I am to have that thing off of me," Loki said, brushing himself down carefully. "Now, what was your question, King?"

"What do you have to say about the crimes that you have committed on Midgard and, therefore, against Asgard?"

"I have nothing to say about it. I did it because I could, and because I wanted to. Need there be else to be said?" Thor shifted worriedly on the stairs by his father, knowing that those very words could condemn Loki to death.

"So you do not regret that which you have done."

"No," said Loki simply, picking at his fingernails, already thoroughly bored. "Punish me as you will, but know that I do not regret anything I have done."

Odin stiffened in his throne at these words. He had thought that this boy, one who once been his son, might see the fault in himself if he reviewed what he had done. But he seemed to neither care nor repent anything.

"Then you have condemned yourself."

"Father," whispered Thor to Odin quietly, drawing nearer to him to speak more privately. "I ask that you have pity on Loki. We do not know the full extent of what happened to Loki while he was in that black hole."

The All-Father calmed a little at his son's words, settling himself more comfortably on his throne. Thor did have a point, though Loki's actions still had to be punished. Even if the half Jotun had been on orders from the Chitauri and was pushed to this against his will, that didn't mean that he would leave this room without punishment.

"Thank you, Thor." The blonde nodded and stepped away, casting a worried look at the man at the bottom of the stairs. In all circumstances, Loki would always be his brother.

"Loki, Thor has spoken for you." The god snatched a quick glance at him, eyes flashing with something unidentifiable. "Therefore, I have chosen to reduce the severity of your punishment, dire as your actions might have been."

"Can we stop beating around the bush, Odin?" The king glared down at the impudent boy, once more furious before remembering to be calm.

"You shall be sent to Midgard, banished until I have seen fit that you have repented for your crimes and redeemed yourself to return. I will strip you of your powers and cast you out."

Loki looked up at him in surprise. He had thought that he would have at least been allowed to remain in Asgard. But to banish him to Midgard? What was the reason for this?

"Odin, King, when you say powers-?"

"All of them. Including your knowledge of arcane spells." The god gasped a little at this. So he was expected to live on Midgard, with no powers or spells, and to _repent_? This unfair judgement was like many of the others that Odin had made over Loki before.

...

"But it was an accident! I swear this, Father!"

"Father, I was there. I saw everything that happened." Thor was once again standing up for his younger brother, this time for what really _was_ an accident.

**\\\**

Loki had been sparring with Sif, with her being the challenger. The girl had been scorning about his ability to fight.

"You only fight from a distance with your magic. Why don't you fight in close combat?"

"I do not find it necessary," he replied, quietly but with inner anger.

"Because you are weak." This had resulted in Loki having to be pulled off Sif before he had caused her any real damage. "I challenge you to single combat," she spat at him as they were both restrained by their friends.

"I accept," he said, pulling roughly away from his brother.

"You do not need to do this, brother," said Thor urgently, knowing that Loki wasn't exactly the best of fighters.

"I do this for my honour, Thor." The fierceness in his normally peaceful green eyes proved to Thor that this was the truth. His brother was not normally like this, furious in a way that words could not describe.

He was used to the calm, solitary Loki, who was not disturbed by anything or anyone. Thor ran eyes over his little brother, smiling. Days spent inside studying musty old tomes had left Loki's complexion pale white, unlike Thor's sun-tanned skin. His hair was black and hung curling to his shoulders, though the god knew that the other would cut it soon out of pure frustration. And then there were his eyes; they were deep, soulful orbs that knew every single move you were going to make before you made it. They reflected mossy rocks, and long-lost forests, and the deep plush grass that they stood on.

Loki raised an eyebrow at his brother's staring before he gestured him to follow the others to the stadium where most of their training took place.

"What will it be, serpent, swords, axes, hammers or spears?" Sif was goading him, trying to make him lose his cool.

"Why not spears, _Lady _Sif? We both have training in those," he said acidly, smiling like the Cheshire Cat. She pursed her lips together at this and snatched a spear off of the wall. It was taller than she was, as she hadn't yet grown to her full height. Loki still thought that she was short for her age, though she had yet to grow into womanhood.

"Choose your weapon and let us begin." Volstagg stepped in between them as the god carefully picked a spear off the wall, stroking soft fingers along it.

"First to five hits wins," said Volstagg, nervously stroking the beginnings of his beard. "Go." He raised a hand to signal the beginning of the round and quickly retreated to sit with the others.

They both circled each other carefully, noting the other's stance and assessing their weaknesses. It was Sif who attacked first, charging forward and swinging her spear in a low arc, intended to trip him up. Loki jumped above it, in return twisting around her so he could tap her on the shoulder once with his spear.

"You'll have to do better than that, Sif," he teased her, stepping away so they could start the next round. She bared her teeth at him menacingly before Volstagg called out to begin once again.

This time, Sif kept her distance, holding her spear near the end in a precarious way. The girl was going to use the length of the spear to her advantage; of course, Loki had ways of getting around that.

He stepped forward slowly, goading her into trying to strike him. She resisted for a while before she felt that he was too close and made a swipe at his shoulder. The boy dodged by ducking underneath it and spun quickly behind her, tapping her on the other shoulder.

'Three more to go,' thought Loki to himself, grinning at his opponent. Thor was proud of the way that his brother was performing, but he knew that confidence could just as well trip him up at this point.

As Volstagg signalled the third round, Sif darted towards him and made to stab him in the torso area, a look of malice in her eyes. Loki's eyes widened as he only just managed to dodge the blow that could have crushed his ribs, or worse, ripped through his skin.

'So that is how it shall be.' The god was not thinking of the consequences that this could bring about as he used Sif's distraction of her attack to return one of his own; this one was successful, though not in her eyes.

Blood began spreading across the front of the girl's tunic, below her heart. It was a grievous blow, and Loki immediately dropped his spear to go and help her.

"Get away from me, traitor," she hissed angrily as the others came rushing over the field. "I do not wish for your help."

"We must take her to the healing room immediately," said Fandral, putting an arm around her shoulders and lifting her up. "I suspect that Heimdall will have been watching. I hope for your sake that all goes well," he said, casting a piteous look at him.

"Brother, what caused you to do such a thing?" asked Thor, standing beside his brother who was seemingly unaware of anything around him.

"I did not intend to injure her," he whispered, still not looking at the blonde. "In this, you must believe me."

"Of course I believe you. I was not able to inspect the fight closely, but did Sif provoke you in some way to act like that?" Loki stayed silent for a minute before answering,

"She tried striking the first blow." The doors to the stadium swung upon and one of their father's soldiers came striding in.

"Odin requests both of the prince's presences in the throne room at once."

**\\\**

"Even if it was an accident, it has still had dire consequences. I have to punish you in some way, for you are my son."

'It would not be like this if I were your first-born, or if this same thing had happened to Thor,' thought Loki bitterly. 'Thor is your most favoured son. Admit it, Father.'

"Therefore, you are to be confined to your rooms for the next month, and you also owe an apology to Sif for injuring her," said Odin All-Father sternly.

"Of course, Father," said the boy through gritted teeth.

...

"So I am to be cast out immediately, with no powers, until you see fit for me to return?" Odin nodded at the half Jotun. "With no help?"

"You have to learn that one action can have far-reaching consequences, Loki. You are lucky that I did not deem you to be executed, and you have your brother to thank for that."

"Thank you, Thor," spat out Loki. "For your ever graciousness and that of your father as well."

"Loki, wait-"

"I do not care, Thor. If you are to cast me out, Odin, then do it now." The ebony-haired man spread his arms. "Better for it to be over now then to say goodbyes to people who do not care for me."


	3. This Is What I Am

**Thank you to all of the people who have read this story so far! If you want, drop me a Private Message or leave a review on what you think should happen next or if you have any ideas. Your views mean a lot to me.**

* * *

"Mommy, Mommy, look!" Something was poking him in the side and he groaned.

"What is it, sweetie?"

"I found a homeless man! What do you think he's doing in the park?" He cautioned himself to opening one eye; there was a chubby, pink face full of two blue eyes staring at him. He gasped and sat up quickly, not knowing where he was.

"Honey, leave the poor man be. I'm sure he isn't homeless."

"Where am I?" Loki whispered to the little girl, though he already had an inkling of where.

"This is New York," said the girl's mother who had joined her daughter in staring at him. She looked friendly enough. "You must have fainted or something. Are you okay?" There was concern in her eyes, though she had never met him before.

The god rubbed his face and sighed. This was where he had been sent for attacking Manhattan; back to the very same place. He looked down at his clothes, already knowing that he had been stripped of his original god-like attire. Instead, they had been replaced by a pair of black jeans, a white top and a black and green checked over-top.

"I am fine. I am afraid that I am lost. This is not exactly where I went to sleep." The woman gave him a sympathetic look, the first that he had received in a long time.

"Look, why don't you come back to our house and see if we can't find out where you're supposed to be?" The man grinned at her; he may have no powers, but that didn't mean that didn't still have a silver tongue.

"How gracious of you. I have not received such hospitality for a long time." Her cheeks tinged a light pink and she offered him a hand so that he could stand up. "What is your name?"

"It's Valerie. And I'm Danny," piped out the little girl, who smiled widely at him. "Who are you?" Loki had to think about this for a time, knowing that he could not give his real name.

"It's Lieth."

"Mommy, why can't I have a cool name like that?" The mother laughed.

"I didn't think of it before you were born, that's why." She ruffled the little girl's hair. "Now, come on, let's go back to the car."

**...**

"Are you sure that sending Loki back to Midgard was the right thing to do, Father?" Odin sighed at his only son.

"Thor, it was what needed to be done. What would you have had me do, let him roam free here, with all of his powers?"

"I would have looked after him," said the god fiercely, trying to restrain the angry tears. "I would have tried to teach him his wrongs."

"And what good would that have done?" Odin's voice began to rise. "He is not your brother; he has no need to listen to you!"

"We grew up together, Father! That must count for something in his mind!"

"That is what you do not understand!" The king began to shout. "There is no accounting for what Loki could or would do!" Thor turned away from him. How could his father not see what he had done wrong?

"Father, I love Loki. That we are not blood brothers does not change how I feel for him!" Thor brushed a hand through his golden hair. "I see him as my brother no matter what he does."

"And that is your greatest fault. You are too easily trusting."

"Then let me prove you wrong. Let me prove to you that Loki is worth redemption. Send me down there, to watch over him, to see what he does." Odin remained silent, mulling over this idea.

The god of thunder remained standing there, waiting to hear what his father had to say. He wanted to save his brother, and that was exactly what Loki would always be to him; a brother. He counted the Warriors Three as his brothers, as he counted Sif as a sister.

"So be it. You are not to make contact with either Loki, those he speaks and interacts with or the Avengers. Is that clear?"

"Thank you, Father," said Thor, kneeling before the All-Father. "For this action, I owe you my gratitude."

"I cannot send you yet. I need time to rest after the magic I used on Loki. Return tomorrow."

**...**

"I know that this place isn't much, but it works for me and Danny." Valerie showed him into the lounge. "Please, take a seat." He sat down on the couch as she went into the kitchen, becoming used to the human feeling of everything.

"Where are you from, Lieth?" asked the girl, sitting beside him and having difficulty pronouncing his name.

"I'm from a faraway place," he whispered to her. "Can you keep a secret?" She nodded quickly, leaning closer to him. "I am from Asgard. But you must promise not to tell your mother of this."

"I promise," she said solemnly, holding up her pinkie. "Pinkie promise?" They crossed pinkies and pinkie promised on it.

"Do you want a coffee, Lieth?" the woman yelled from the kitchen loudly, startling the god.

"Thank you, that would be most agreeable." Danny laughed a little at him.

"You talk funny."

"It was how I was raised. Sometimes even I am confused at how profuse my words are."

"What's pro-fuse mean?"

"It means lengthy. I stretch my sentences out with unnecessary words at times." The little brunette girl scratched her head.

"Okay." Valerie came back into the room carrying two coffee mugs.

"Here you go. Scoot, Danny."

"Mommy," she began to whine before she finally moved to sit down on the carpeted floor, crossing her arms grumpily.

"So, Lieth, where are you from?" He shot a secretive look at Danny, who winked at him, and then said,

"I'm originally from Britain, but I moved here when I was 5." He sipped the hot beverage, managing not to frown at the strange taste. After a few more sips, he grew used to the bitterness.

"You remind me of someone I've seen before," the woman said, tapping the side of her mug with her fingers. "I can't remember who, though."

"I'm sure it was not important," Loki said, grinning.

"Did you hear about what happened to Manhattan a few days ago?" she asked. "Some super-villain came and trashed up the place, including Stark Tower."

"Oh really? How strange." He set his coffee cup down on the coffee table in front of him. "I know that this is abrupt, but would it be alright if I stayed here, just for a couple of nights? It may take me a while to find a place to stay."

"That's fine. The guest bedroom is upstairs, you can stay there."

"Thank you, Valerie. I, er, may I take a nap now, if that's alright?" She waved a hand.

"That's absolutely fine. Danny, do you want to show Lieth up to his room?" The girl stood up and gestured for him to follow her. They went up the small spiral staircase and down a hallway, where Danny opened one of the doors.

"Is it okay if I come talk to you later, Lieth?"

"What would it be about?"

"I want to learn more about you," said the 7 year old shyly. He smiled at the girl, feeling a stirring of warmth towards her.

"Knock on my door in 3 hours."

"Okay then!" she said, skipping down the hallway and leaving him alone.

He entered the room and sat down on the single bed, looking out the window at the other buildings. Loki was beginning to feel like he belonged here, strange as that was. It was more tranquil, though the buildings were cruder and the air was dirtier than Asgard.

And the people could be friendly to complete strangers. He himself would have trusted no-one, especially if he had found them on the ground in a park. He lay himself down on his back, head resting on the pillow. He said one last thing before he closed his eyes.

"I miss you, Thor."


	4. The Tales of Asgard

**Here it is. Chapter 4! I'm afraid that it isn't very interesting, but Chapter 5 might be up later. Leave some reviews!**

* * *

"Lieth?" said a timid voice from outside his door. "Lieth, can I come in?"

"The door's open," he said just as quietly. Danny cautiously opened the door, sticking her head in first and surveying the room before actually walking in. The little girl sat down in an armchair by the window, legs swinging over the edge and making a thudding noise as they hit the chair.

"Is it okay if I ask some more about you?" She seemed so cautious that he almost wondered where her previous bubbly demeanour had gone. Or had he simply imagined that?

"Ask away." She sat and thought on that for a moment.

"How old are you?"

"I count myself as late twenties, though in reality I don't know how old I am. We measure time differently in Asgard."

"Where is Asgard?" asked Danny, leaning forward. "Is it a magical place?"

"Asgard is one of the Nine Realms. This, Midgard, is also one of them. There are also Jotunheim and Alfheim, and many others." He paused for a moment. "I don't know if I would call Asgard a magical place, but there we have a rainbow bridge which we name the Bifrost."

"Are there unicorns there?" He laughed a little, though not in a mean way; it was so strange to be having this sort of conversation with a child.

"No, alas, we do not have unicorns. But we have bilgesnipe."

"What are bilgesnipe?"

"Great, big, ugly things, with horns that are constantly fighting, and they trample everything in their way."

'Like myself and my brother," he thought to himself. 'Always fighting. And always because of me.'

"I don't ever want to meet a bilgesnipe," said Danny, shivering.

"My fa- The King of Asgard has an 8 legged horse, which he named Sleipnir. No-one but he is allowed to ride him."

"Really?" she said with wide eyes. "Are there any other animals in Asgard?"

"Once, in the mountains of Asgard, we had dragons. Great, speaking dragons. But then the King of Asgard rode with his warriors to slay them all in an epic battle, the like of which was only equalled by the war between the Frost Giants and the Asgardians on Midgard."

"There were Frost Giants on here?"

"They invaded and planned to take over this realm. The King of Asgard brought forth a charge so mighty that they were swept from Midgard back to their native realm of Jotunheim. And we took from them their source of power, to protect the other realms."

Danny sat there in a wide-eyed stupor as he described some of the greatest battles in Asgard's history. There were tales of the Liosalfar, the Light Elves that resided in Alfheim; Mangamyr, one of the greatest wolves that lived in the underworld; the deadly Ninnir who had drowned many a traveller who had tried to ride them; and also Hofvarpnir, the magical horse of Gna, deliverer of messages.

"Have you seen them for yourself?"

"Some of them. Others, only in books. Maybe one day, I'll find a book and show them to you. Or I'll weave you my own picture."

"I'd like that," the brunette said with a toothy grin. "Promise me that you'll show me them one day."

"I swear," he promised the little girl, knowing that this was one promise that he would make sure to keep.

"Danny, Lieth! Dinner is ready!" Loki looked outside to see that the sky had indeed already darkened considerably and the sun must be halfway through setting.

"Come on, let's go!" Danny took his hand, something that surprised him greatly, and pulled him downstairs. There was so much excitement in the small body; even Thor had not had such boundless energy as a child.

Thor. He winced as he thought about the god and the harsh words that he had said to him. He wasn't one that regretted things, but parting with Thor was something to regret. He had lived his whole life with the oaf, the annoying oaf that had interrupted his studying every day to drag him to training and other things.

"Are you okay, Lieth?" asked Valerie as Danny pulled him into the room. He shook his head and smiled at her.

"Don't mind me. I was just remembering something else." She still had concern in her eyes as she offered him a seat at the table. "Thank you for letting me stay here."

"It's nothing." They all sat down at the table when she said, "Danny, would you like to say Prayer?"

"Sure, Mommy." The girl held out a hand for him to hold as did her mother.

"I'm sorry, but what is Prayer?"

"When you praise the Lord for what he has given you," Valerie said simply, looking at him. "Haven't you ever said Prayer?"

"I… no. I don't believe in one god, I believe in many."

"That doesn't mean that you can't say Prayer. You're just praying to different gods." Loki took one of each of their hands, closing his eyes.

As Danny said the proper words, in his mind he said a silent apology to Thor before he opened his eyes again. The man vowed not to think of the god for the rest of the night, and instead focus on dinner.

**...**

Thor was called to the throne room in the early hours of the morning, and he barely had time to pull on his boots before he was dragged from his quarters by a soldier.

"Father, why have you called me here so early?"

"I must send you to Midgard. And also, I must give you this." He handed the god a small, black cube. "Twist the top of this three times when you wish to return to Asgard, be it with or without Loki."

"May I bring Loki back with me?" asked Thor, heart rising as he thought of the two of them being brothers in Asgard once more.

"Only if you have proof that he has changed, and if he can admit to this."

"Thank you, Father." He bowed. "So, shall you send me now?

**...**

"That was very nice, thank you," said Loki, setting his napkin back on his plate. Valerie seemed to notice how the man did everything with a casual, almost lazy grace. Even how he spoke was fluid.

"Is there anything else that I can get you?" she asked as he smiled back at her.

"No, that will be fine. I must return to my room now."

"Why don't you watch a movie with Danny and me?" The god frowned at her.

"A movie?"

"We could watch The Lion King," offered the girl, looking up at him with imploring blue eyes.

"I am afraid that I am most tired. Maybe tomorrow."

"Good night," said Valerie as he stood and left the room.

"Mommy, you like him, don't you?" The woman blushed.

"Don't be silly, Danny. I've only known him for a few hours."

"You like him." The brunette slid off of her chair. "I'm going to go to bed too."

"It's still early, though."

"I know. I'm tired, and I have some drawing to do." She left Valerie on her own at the kitchen table, wondering what her 7 year old, who barely did any drawing, wanted to draw.


	5. I See You in My Dreams

**Time to bring out the good old Google Translate! I thought that I might put in some Latin in here for Loki to speak his spells in. Anyway, some of the slash that you all have been waiting for is in this chapter. Leave some reviews, as always.**

* * *

Loki was lying on his back on the bed, looking up at the cracked white ceiling, breaking his promise about not thinking of Thor. It reviled him to think that he still needed the god even though they were not brothers.

Yet he could not resist remembering the golden hair, the blue ocean eyes and the wide smile. Was he cursed to forever remember Thor? He could be on Midgard for the rest of eternity, for her did not ever want to repent for what he had done. What had he done wrong?

It wasn't his fault that everything had been handed to the God of Thunder on a silver platter, while he, the silver serpent, hid in the shadows. Why shouldn't he want to fight back against always being second-best?

Maybe it was time for someone else to take the throne, one with the power over words that could coerce others to do his bidding. Even if Thor did ascend to the throne, he would only be a puppet for the Council to use to guide their judgements.

It was a saddening thought, that the King would not even be King, but a dancer to another's tune. Loki turned onto his side, sighing. Maybe it would be best that he was not to be King of Asgard.

He turned back to the ceiling, black hair splaying over the pillow. These thoughts were too deep for one as drowsy as he was now, and they only served to bring him closer to the abyss of sleep. The Traitor closed his eyes and fell into it.

**...**

Thor snuck quietly into the room, leaning against the wall as he watched his brother sleeping, his chest rising and falling steadily. He looked so peaceful lying there, with his lips slightly parted to allow breathing to come easily.

"Brother, why must you refuse to apologize?" he whispered out loud, walking closer to the bed. "It would be so easy for you to return to Asgard."

The god brushed stray hair out of Loki's eyes, smiling. It appeared that, so far, he hadn't tried murdering anyone. This could be a start. He looked out the window, at the faint stars twinkling, as they did at home.

"Thor." The blonde looked back down at Loki, wondering what he had heard. "Thor, come back… to me." The god stared, transfixed, as his brother spoke.

Was this some trick that the raven-haired god had wanted to use against him?

"Please." By this word, Thor was kneeling beside the bed, watching Loki intently to see what he would do or say next. His brother was inside this body, somewhere. The man turned over on his side.

"Loki, I am here," the god said fiercely, reaching up and gripping a pale hand tightly. The faint red lips curved into a smile. He half-opened his eyes.

"Is this a dream?" Thor remembered that he was not supposed to have any contact with his brother before he had redeemed himself. But he was right here…

"Yes," he whispered, and the smile faded a little, though not completely.

"This is the nicest dream I have had in a long time." Thor laid one hand on the other's cheek, stroking it with his thumb gently.

"You are with me, Loki. You will be fine."

"Thank you," he said quietly. "Lie down with me, Thor." The blonde lay down beside Loki on the small single bed, wrapping arms around him gently, knowing how fragile his brother was. "It's so difficult here, Thor."

"How is it difficult, brother?" The ebony-haired man nestled his head in the god's shoulder.

"I did not know that I would, but I miss you," he said, with a little agony in his voice.

"Hush, brother." Thor ran a soothing hand over Loki's back. It reminded him of when they were children, when the boy had had recurring nightmares almost every single night. Loki had always found a way to sneak into his chambers and slide into the bed beside him.

Before morning came, and before Thor awakened, the boy would always be gone; as if he didn't want to be caught. There had only been one exception to this, when they had been around 18.

Loki had remained by his brother in deep slumber through the night and into the late hours of the morning; he had not been ashamed when he had awoken, only embarrassed to find Thor with arms still wrapped around his waist.

That had been the last time that the god had done that. Maybe he had stopped having nightmares; maybe it was something else.

"Thor," murmured Loki. "Stay with me tonight."

"I may not be able to," he replied, trying to warm his brother's freezing body.

"This is just a dream, after all. And just for tonight." The god opened his eyes cautiously, slits of emerald below thick, black eyelashes. "Come now, Thor. You were never this disagreeable to me."

He couldn't resist but to lean close to his brother, engulfing the thin, inviting lips with his own. There was a faint rumble of thunder outside as it began to rain, and the blonde pressed deeper into the other's body.

"I love you, Loki."

"I already knew that, Thor," said the man condescendingly. "It is my own feelings that I am unsure of."

"Do not think of that now." The blonde pressed soft lips against his once again, before Loki muttered, almost inaudibly,

"I guess that you can no longer call me brother."

"That bothers me no more." He waited for the god to reply before he noticed that his breathing was back to its calm, rhythmic beat and that his eyes were closed. Thor sighed at this.

He would stay for as long as he could tonight, but he mustn't be detected by either the woman or the girl who also occupied this household.

**...**

Loki yawned and stretched on the bed, flicking open one, tired eye.

It had been such a good dream… He remembered how intimate Thor had been, the feeling of his warmth against him, so different from his own coldness. He almost expected the god to still be right next to him.

But he wasn't, and the Traitor was alone in the guest bedroom above the streets of New York.

"Lieth! There's some breakfast down here if you want it!" yelled Valerie from downstairs, making Loki groan. What time must it be if she was yelling for him to come downstairs?

The woman was one of the friendliest people that he had ever met, but that didn't mean that on occasion she was annoying.

He pulled himself up and swung his legs over the side of the bed, unused to the feeling of heaviness that he felt through his entire body. Loki made to say a few words that would remove this before realizing that he didn't have powers.

He paused for a moment in this thought. How was it possible for Odin to remove his natural pool of magic that he had been born with? Maybe…

"Dare me ...

Quidam nigrum Braccae,

Viridi shirt,

Et par moderni calceamenta."

The clothes appeared beside him on the bed, surprising him greatly.

"Flare quod fenestram." Nothing happened.

So his neutral and so-called 'good' spells were still usable, but his destructive magic was not usable. Did Odin realize that he hadn't cast the full spell, or had he done it on purpose? Loki did not care so much about that question, but more so that he still had some of his powers.

The god pulled on his pants and had taken off his two tops when Valerie walked into the room.

"Liet- Oh, you're awake."

"Is it a normal custom here for people to enter other's rooms without knocking?" he said, grinning almost poisonously at her.

"I didn't realize that you were getting changed." He suddenly found himself self-conscious of his bony hips and white skin. "You're… slender."

Loki didn't know if he had imagined it, but he thought he heard a faint hiss from the corner of the room. At this, he cleared his throat at Valerie.

"If you would be kind enough to leave so that I can get properly get dressed…"

"Oh yes, of course, I'll go, see you downstairs." She was obviously floundering for words as she struggled to open the door and leave the room.

Loki turned back to the corner of the room where he had thought that he had heard the sound and looked at it suspiciously. He pulled on his new green t-shirt and looked at the strange shoes.

They had a star on the side of them and they were almost entirely black except for the white laces. They looked much different from the boots that he was used to wearing. The god pulled them on anyway and laced them, standing up and inspecting himself in the mirror by the dresser.

Loki felt like he looked so strange in these mortal clothes, but he knew that he had to at least try to blend in. He gave one last cursory look at the corner before leaving the room and walking downstairs to the kitchen.

**...**

Thor gave a sigh of relief as the Traitor left the room. He wasn't sure that his father's cloaking spell was working, but he knew it when Loki didn't try to blast him.

Though he could not call him a brother any longer, he knew that he could still say that he loved Loki.


	6. Help in Strange Places

**A huge thanks to Kazulallan and YouThereintheTrunks, your support is appreciated! Thanks also to the other people who are reading this. Feel free to drop me a PM or review this story.**

**The next chapter I am writing might be a little longer, I'm trying to get all of the next few chapters to over 2000 words, so it might be a bit late coming out!**

* * *

"So, what are you planning on doing today, Lieth?" Loki looked up from his half-eaten stack of pancakes, mouth full. Valerie couldn't believe his appetite, as if he had been half-starved for the past few days. Then again, when she had run in on him, he had looked rather slender…

"I do not know yet," he said after he had swallowed, wiping his mouth with a napkin. "I have someone that I must look for. Or, well, many people that can lead me to the person that I am looking for."

"Who are you looking for?" she asked cautiously, flipping another pancake in the frying pan; Danny was too preoccupied with cutting her current pancake into a pancake man to notice the two of them talking.

"My brother." Loki held a dark expression as he went back to eating his plate of food, as good as ending the conversation with those two words. The woman took it that his brother was a touchy subject and so she dropped it immediately.

"Do you want another pancake, Danny?" the mother asked, looking over her shoulder.

"Hm? Oh, sure!" The brunette brought her plate over and looked out the kitchen window as her mother tipped the pancake onto her plate. "Thanks, Mommy."

"I should get going," the man said quietly, picking up his plate and standing up. "Thanks for the breakfast, Valerie."

"Can I come with you? Pretty please?" Loki smiled as he looked down at the girl.

"Maybe some other time. I have some important business to attend to." He winked at her. "I'll keep my promise, I swear."

"Where are you going?" asked Valerie, looking immensely worried at the thought that only yesterday he had seemed like a dazed and confused man and now he was off gallivanting around New York by himself.

"Down to Brooklyn." He pulled a leather jacket off the back of his chair that she hadn't seen before; in fact, she hadn't seen the clothes that he had been wearing before, either. "I'll be back in a few hours. Do not worry for me; I can take care of myself." The raven-haired man pulled on the jacket and quickly strode away before she could ask any more questions.

Valerie listened to the door click and set the frying pan back down on the oven.

"What did he promise you, sweetie?"

"I'm not telling you. If I told you, he might not keep his promise."

"He is strange, isn't he?"

"I like him. He's the coolest adult that I've ever met." The kid flicked brown hair over her shoulder. "Not that I've met many."

**...**

Loki unsurely waved down a taxi as he exited the apartment building, watching the yellow vehicle stop in front of him. He climbed into the back seat, saying to the driver,

"Downtown Brooklyn."

"Sure thing," said the cabbie with a thick British accent. The god brushed some of his hair to the side to cover the action of him fogging the driver's mirror. He then quickly muttered some Latin and procured himself a wallet full of wads of cash and then unfogged the mirror.

The cabbie didn't notice a thing, too occupied with the music that he was listening to on the radio. Loki leant back in the seat, looking out to the streets of Manhattan.

Earlier, after he had exited his room into the hallway, he had cast a spell to track down Captain America. He was one of the gentler members of the Avengers, and was the least likely to kill him on sight. He could have some idea of how to track down Thor.

Before that spell, he had tried to track the God of Thunder, but it wasn't possible. Loki wasn't sure why, but Thor wasn't traceable with his magic. Maybe it was because he was an Asgardian, he didn't know.

All he knew was that the god was on Midgard somewhere, and he wasn't on Asgard anymore. Odin may have sent his son to investigate him, but it was strange that he was being checked on so soon after his banishment.

**...**

"Fifty bucks." Loki looked at the driver suspiciously before throwing a note at him.

"Keep the change," he said, stepping out of the car and onto the footpath. The cabbie didn't waste any time in making his escape.

The place that he should be looking for was somewhere on this street, though it looked almost empty of life. It was early morning though, and most mortals were still deep in slumber.

He walked leisurely down the road northwards, whistling as he did so. He had lost his sceptre to the Avengers, a loss that he could have done without. But it was a material thing, and he could quickly find a blacksmith once he was back in Asgard to smith him a new one. If any were willing to, of course.

Loki stopped outside a grey-stoned building with small windows dotted across it in rows and columns evenly. So this was Captain America's secret hide-out. How interesting. He kept a mental note to always remember the address before stepping into the lobby.

"Excuse me, but I am looking for a certain man by the name of Steve Rogers." He stopped at the desk, asking this question and expecting to be answered by the old lady who sat there.

"We don't have anyone by that name here," she said, though he could tell that she was lying, and poorly; to learn how to lie, you had to study it also.

"You're lying," he said calmly with a grin. The old woman blushed and looked over her spectacles with indignant eyes.

"Excuse me, young man, but is that any way to treat an old woman?"

"No, it isn't. But when people _lie_ to me," he said, thumping fists down onto the desktop and making her flinch. "Things change. So why don't you tell which room he's in and we'll pretend that I never asked."

She looked at him steadily, with a gaze of stone. She didn't say anything for a long while, and when he was almost going to say something else against her, she replied,

"6th floor, room 1007."

"Thank you," Loki said, smiling as he strode towards the elevator. Sometimes, it was too easy to intimidate people, even the elderly.

**...**

He knocked on the door, tapping it in a rhythm and then patiently waiting while wishing that he had a cane of some sort at that moment.

"Who is it?" said a sleepy voice through the door.

"At least open the door, Rogers. That would be the first polite thing to do." The Captain sighed and opened the door by a slit. "Ah, now will you let me in?"

"What? Who are you?"

"If you don't remember me, then that would be best. At least let me in so that I may speak to you privately." Steve made no sign that he was going to open the door any wider. "It has something to do with Thor," he elaborated.

He finally opened the door to Loki, allowing him to walk inside and investigate the secret hideout.

"What do you know about Thor?" Rogers asked, running a hand through tousled blonde hair and inviting the strange man into his lounge.

"Quite a lot, actually. But as of right now, I am trying to find out where he is hiding out." This made Steve frown.

"But he should be back in Asgard, back with his brother." Loki hissed at that word.

"They are not… _brothers_. What I have found out is that Thor has found himself back in Midgard, for unknown reasons. I am currently looking for him, and I was wondering if you would have any idea."

Captain America seemed to finally register the man sitting opposite him; his strange manner of speaking, his long, black hair, and the emerald eyes. He leapt up from the couch and raised his fists.

"You're Loki! How the hell did you find out where my secret hide-out was?"

"You know, you don't look that imposing in America flag boxers," the god said flatly, raising an eyebrow at them. "And it was easy enough for me to find out where your hide-out was. It isn't that secretive. Can we get back to Thor?"

"Why do you care about him?" he asked, pulling his white shirt more so over the previously mentioned boxers. "You aren't related, as you said yourself."

"I just want to find out where he is. If you can't help me, then I'll leave." Loki made to stand up before Steve laid a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"Okay, I'll try to help you. But only if you promise not to attack anyone while you're on Earth and you promise not to hurt Thor." The Traitor sighed and nodded. What was this one promise if he could find the god and ask him all of the questions that he wanted and needed to ask?

"I swear. Now, where is the first place that I should start looking?"


	7. When You Stalk a Sibling

**A big thanks to the people who are following this story or who have Favorited it! I really don't know if this chapter is any good, but I tried to make it longer because the time between updates might be longer; I have lots of other work to do -_- Then again, I might upload more on the weekends. Anyway, here you go!**

* * *

Thor had been looking out the kitchen window, studying the buildings suspiciously when Loki suddenly stood up from the table. He hadn't been listening to the conversation, but now he listened intently to see what was going on.

"Can I come with you? Pretty please?" The god watched as his brother smiled at the girl, a genuine smile, and winked at her as he said,

"Maybe some other time. I have some important business to attend to. I'll keep my promise, I swear."

"Where are you going?" The woman was obviously worried for him, though why he did not know. His brother could easily take care for himself. It could just be that she was beginning to fall in love with him.

Earlier that morning, he had accidentally hissed at that thought, and nearly given himself away. Luckily, the woman hadn't notice, though Loki seemed to have. He had only his father's magic to thank that he wasn't caught.

"Down to Brooklyn." The god pulled on a black leather jacket that he had brought out of nowhere just then, surprising the woman. "I'll be back in a few hours. Do not worry for me; I can take care of myself." He left the room, with Thor following quickly after.

Loki sighed and his shoulders lowered a little as he shut the apartment door behind him; it was like all of the air had been sucked out of him. He strode away to the elevator, and the God of Thunder only just slid in-between the metal doors before they closed.

The other sagged a little against one wall, letting out all of his breath.

"Where are you, Thor?" These words were spoken with such despair to the god that he almost wanted to become visible to his brother; to say, 'I am here'. But he resisted and stood there looking sadly at Loki.

**...**

Thor set his feet back down on the footpath silently once the cab had stopped. He did not recognize where they had stopped, but he knew that it must be important. What was Loki doing here?

He watched his brother enter the building and followed after, still wondering. Thor went to wait by the elevator, observing as Loki talked the receptionist into telling him the room of one 'Steve Rogers'.

What would he want with Captain America, one of the Avengers who had foiled his plan to take over Midgard? His brother was confusing him more and more, and he wondered if it had anything to do with what he had done last night.

The God of Thunder's cheeks burned as he thought of it; he was ashamed that he had taken advantage of Loki, even if he hadn't gone… that far. But this was no time to regret what he had done, the other god was already striding towards the lift and he had to follow him and see what exactly his plan was.

**...**

He couldn't believe that the Captain would open the door to Loki, though it appeared that he had done just that. He sidled inside as quietly as he could, following them into the lounge and dodging Steve as he went to close the door.

"What do you know about Thor?" The god straightened up at this. Was this what Loki had come here for?

"Quite a lot, actually. But as of right now, I am trying to find out where he is hiding out." Rogers frowned at the ebony-haired male, finally beginning to look suspicious.

"But he should be back in Asgard, back with his brother." Thor heard his brother hiss at this, like a serpent, living up to the Asgardian's nickname of 'silver serpent'.

"They are not… _brothers_. What I have found out is that Thor has found himself back in Midgard, for unknown reasons. I am currently looking for him, and I was wondering if you would have any idea."

So Loki was looking for him. And he was going to an Avenger to ask. He didn't see the logic of it, especially since he _was_ still supposed to be in Asgard. In fact, how did the god know that he was even here? It must have been the 'dream'…

Suddenly, Steve jumped up from the couch, raising his hands as if to fight Loki, and Thor also readied himself; he lifted up his hammer and waited for the Captain to make the first move.

"You're Loki! How the hell did you find out where my secret hide-out was?"

"You know, you don't look that imposing in America flag boxers." Thor noticed this as well, not very surprised at how far the man's patriotism went. "And it was easy enough for me to find out where your hide-out was. It isn't that secretive. Can we get back to Thor?"

"Why do you care about him? You aren't related, as you said yourself." He pulled down his white t-shirt, although the two could still see bright red, white and blue practically shouting at them.

"I just want to find out where he is. If you can't help me, then I'll leave." His brother was about to leave when Steve stopped him.

"Okay, I'll try to help you. But only if you promise not to attack anyone while you're on Earth and you promise not to hurt Thor."

"I swear. Now, where is the first place that I should start looking?" Thor admired that Loki had agreed to this, and at that moment he was tempted to reveal himself to his brother and take them both back to Asgard.

But he knew that Loki also had to accept that he had changed, and right now, the God of Thunder couldn't be sure of that. He lowered his hammer to his side, and began thinking of what he should do.

Could he let Loki accidentally find him at the place that Rogers suggested, or should he remain hidden and invisible? Although he desperately wanted to meet his brother properly and discuss what had really happened, he must wait until he had fulfilled his father's conditions.

**...**

"I can't say that I know Thor well, Loki."

"Then just point me in the right direction." Captain scratched the back of his head slowly, making Loki sigh in frustration.

"Look, it isn't my fault that you decided to do all of this and get banished. If you're so angry at me, you can go find someone else to help you, and I doubt that you will."

"Okay, fine. Help me work this out logically. Bring me a quill and parchment."

"Er, a what?" Steve looked at him strangely, the words obviously confusing him. Loki had to remember that they were not from the same place, so things were different.

"Pen and paper," he said after a little while of thinking. "Immediately."

"I'll go get it. You don't have to order me around, you know." As Rogers left to collect the required items, Loki investigated the room a little, noting how it was modern but had a dated feeling to it. Maybe it was just Captain's moodiness.

He heard a cough from the corner and jumped, thinking that it was the Avenger returning. It wasn't, because there was nothing but thin air behind him. Loki narrowed his eyes at this; twice in one day was more than a coincidence.

The raven-haired god stood up slowly, walking around the sofa and towards the corner; he stopped in front of it, emerald eyes peering at it, almost daring it to cough again.

"What are you doing?" He jumped for a second time and turned to glare at Steve.

"Your corner coughed. I was investigating."

"Because that explains everything," he muttered under his breath, shaking his head and sitting back down on the couch. "Now, how were you proposing to sort this out logically?"

Loki sat back down beside him and took the paper, setting it down on the coffee table as he also took the pen.

"We work out all of the people he is emotionally attached to and where they are. As well as the places where he may go separately in the process." He set the pen to the piece of paper.  
"So, where do we begin?"

"Well, there's Jane. His girlfriend from Earth." Loki frowned at this but wrote it down anyway. He had forgotten the mortal woman that Thor had fallen in love with. "I don't know where she is, but I could always ask S.H.I.E.L.D her location."

"Would they let you?"

"I'm the leader of the team, of course they will." His eyes flashed with uncertainty though, and the god put a question mark beside Jane Foster. "Then there are the Avengers."

"Hm, yes. If there was a crisis on Midgard, I am sure that Thor would return to protect you all. That would also explain his return here." He wrote down Avengers and tapped the pen on the table, looking at the wall blankly.

Captain cleared his throat, not sure of how exactly to put his next words.

"You know, there are, well, there is you. His brother."

"He is not my brother," hissed Loki angrily, scribbling down his own name. "We are not related."

"And how does that change anything? If you grow up with someone your whole life that means that you must have some sort of connection with each other." Steve's voice grew a bit wistful at this point. "And sometimes you just throw it away."

"Let us continue this list without getting distracted. Who else is there?"

"I don't think that there's anyone else," Captain said after a short pause. "Thor doesn't come here very often, you know. And he doesn't get attached to people easily."

"I know. So, we only have 3 options to choose from. There is Jane, in an undisclosed location; there are the Avengers, who would presumably be at the airship being debriefed; and then there is me. Here."

"You said that you heard coughing before? At least, I think you did." Loki frowned at him.

"Yes, but I believed that to be my imagination. Thor could not possibly be here with us, right here, right now. He is an oaf, and he doesn't have a single drop of magic in his blood." He paused for a moment. "Unless it had something to do with my father. Wait. Quiet."

He got up from the couch, cocking his head to one side. If he was silent, he would be able to hear the breathing in the room. Loki closed his eyes, tuning into the sound waves around him.

"Rogers. Could you please stop breathing so loudly?" the god said, opening his eyes.

"I'll go make myself a coffee," the blonde said sulkily, leaving the room with a scowl on his face. Loki closed his eyes once again and tried to listen to the room all around him. For a moment he could've sworn…

But then it was gone. Whatever had been there earlier had left, probably along with the Captain so as not to disturb the sound waves. If it was his brother, then he was already becoming more intelligent; if it wasn't, then there was someone spying on him.

"I will find you, Thor," he whispered angrily. "You can't hide from me forever." He turned swiftly away from the wall and snatched up the piece of paper from the table. Without even saying a farewell to Steve, he left the apartment stealthily.

**...**

It was fortunate that he had decided to leave once the two had begun to talk about the people he was 'emotionally attached' to. If he hadn't, it was probable that Loki would have found him.

Unfortunately, he now had to hide by the apartment door until someone decided to leave. And waiting was not his specialty. He could feel his hammer throbbing, and he clenched his other hand into a fist and attempted not to hit anything. Standing here was so boring.

He had a mind to sneak back into the room and allow Loki to find him, though that would have gone against his father's express commands; then again, he had already broken them by interacting with his brother yesterday.

How he wished that he could tell Loki how he really felt…


	8. Memories Can Shatter You to Pieces

**Sorry for the longer than usual wait for the update. I tried to make this chapter more dramatic than the others, but I don't know if I really managed to do that. Anyhow, thank you for the favorites and follows as always! **

**And after I have finished this story, I may or may not be working on another Thorki fanfiction. But who knows!**

* * *

Loki slammed the door as he entered the apartment, trying not to let his face show how much he had gone through today; he had been so close to finding Thor, and he had failed. He felt miserable and the god didn't want anyone to know it.

"Lieth? Is that you?" He did nothing to answer Valerie as he walked into the lounge to see her sitting on the couch with a book. It was now that he felt that he didn't belong here, but he knew that he would do nothing to leave. After all, Thor might follow him here; _if_ he was following Loki, and that possibility was slim.

"I did not find him," the God of Mischief answered after a long pause. He sat himself down on the couch and put his head in his hands. "I failed."

"You didn't fail," she said softly, putting an arm around his shoulders. "And it isn't your fault that you couldn't find him."

"I need to find him, Valerie." The god hated how desperate he sounded, how pathetic his words really were. "I have to."

"Maybe you'll find him tomorrow. Don't worry about it." Valerie rubbed his arm softly; he seemed so helpless in this situation that she wanted to comfort him as much as she could. "Lieth, don't beat yourself up over this."

"You are right," he said, lifting his head and surprising the woman to show that he hadn't begun crying; though the despair on his face was apparent. "Now, I have a promise that I must keep with Danny. Would you mind if I took her somewhere to fulfil this promise?"

"What is this promise?" Valerie asked suspiciously, not exactly wanting to hand her child over to a stranger, even though she knew what Lieth was like.

"I promised her that I would show her some of memories of home. Of further than that, I can tell you no more. I swear that I will not abscond with her at first opportunity." Loki locked his deep, emerald eyes onto hers, imploring her silently.

"I, I, sure, I don't mind," she stuttered, letting go of him and pulling away.

"Thank you," he grinned at her. "For trusting me. Not many trust me nowadays." Before she could ask him why this was, he had already disappeared from beside her and was making his way up the stairs, barely making a sound as his shoes hit the wooden steps.

She went back to her book, shaking her ginger-haired head. She was not going to admit that she even partially had an attraction to him.

**...**

"Danny?" Loki whispered as he stuck her head through the gap where her door was partially opened.

"What?" The girl sounded slightly worried as she hurried to hide whatever was on her desk. "Oh, it's just you." She sighed and uncovered her work with a smile. "I thought you were Mommy. I don't want her to see these."

"What are they?" he asked quietly as he walked in to stand beside her, looking at the desk.

"I tried to draw you," she said shyly. "Because Mommy likes you. But I'm not that good at drawing."

They weren't bad at all, especially considering that she was only seven. They were advanced for her age, and some of the drawings really did look like him.

"You are better than most people I have met." He picked up one of the pieces of paper. "This one does look like me, though you must remember that my eyes are green, not blue." She frowned at the drawing as she snatched it back off him and squinted at him.

"I thought that they were blue," she muttered, picking up an eraser and beginning to rub out her mistake.

"Do not worry about it. You remember the promise that I made to you?" Her eyes lit up considerably and she immediately dropped the eraser back onto the desk. "I have come to fulfil it."

"You mean that you'll show me your memories? Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" The little girl jumped off her chair and hugged him tightly, arms wrapped around his waist as she thanked him even more.

"I would not break a promise to you. My word is binding," he said, slightly surprised at her reaction and even more so that he was being hugged. He hadn't received a hug with so much emotion since… well, since his dream, though that seemed to be more of a reality than when he had first thought of it. "Now come, it is beginning to darken outside. What I have to show you is best shown when it is dark."

**...**

Thor did not know what sort of promise that he had made to the girl, but he saw that the child was beginning to become attached to Loki; this was not a good thing, as his brother could, at any time, leave and never return.

And the woman downstairs was also becoming attached to him, though in more of a romantic way. He had never felt this much jealousy before, though he suspected that this was how Loki felt about Thor and Odin's relationship, or maybe even Thor and Jane's relationship; he threw away the last thought carelessly with a shake of his head.

He quietly began to follow Loki and the child out of the room, listening only slightly to their conversation. It seemed as though his brother was going to take 'Danny' and show her something, though what it was he had no clue what it was.

**...**

Loki hailed down a taxi, allowing Danny to climb in first while he followed.

"Where is a place that is secretive, with no people around and a large, clear area?" he asked her, waiting as her brow furrowed and she tried to think about it.

"What about Central Park?" she offered. "It isn't secretive, but it's super big and there shouldn't be that many people there now that it's getting dark."

"Then Central Park it is." The driver nodded at them, not speaking a single word to them on the entire journey, keeping to himself.

"I can't believe that Mommy actually let you take me out here."

"I managed to persuade her," he smiled slightly, looking out the window at the dark buildings that rose around them. "What was it that you said before, about your mother liking me?"

"I don't think that she'd want you to know, but I think that she likes you. As in, _like_-likes you," said the girl smugly. Loki turned to her in surprise.

Valerie? In love with him? Impossible. The woman was just someone who had taken care of him when he hadn't known where he was or what he had to do. He could not think of her in any other way. Besides, there was Thor to think about.

The God of Mischief opened his mouth to tell the girl about his feelings, and then closed it. He would not discuss these things with this young child. There was no need to, and there were certain things that he must deal with himself, and not burden others with.

The god sighed and looked away from Danny. This whole situation was complicated, even though it was not supposed to be. It was supposed to be a simple punishment, ended when he had proved himself 'worthy' to Odin. That was a lie. He would never be worthy.

And for Odin to send Thor after him was just another step in the All-Father's plan; though how it was to affect him, he should not know.

**...**

The driver said nothing as they arrived under darkness to Central Park, though he turned expectantly to Loki to ask for payment silently. He handed the man a fold of bills from his wallet before returning it to his pocket, climbing out of the taxi and holding the door open for Danny.

The park ended up being larger than he had originally thought, as he thought that it would be much like the park that he had conveniently fallen into when he had arrived. This Midgardian city was also a confusing maze that he uncertainly tried to navigate, and one day he was sure to get lost.

"This way," said Danny, pulling him forward by the hand onto the large grey path ahead of them as the taxi pulled away from the curb. "We'll go this way." She led him off the path and into some denser forestry, though he could see clearly through the thin trees.

"This should be fine here," Loki said quietly to her after they had strayed from the well-lit path into the darker part of the part.

"I can barely see," complained the child. "How will I see what you have to show me?"

"My magic has a light of its own."

The god took a deep breath and concentrated. He put his hands out, cupped together in the shape of a ball, and let out his breath slowly. Loki hadn't done this for many years, at a time when he had been with Thor. He threw away that memory and attempted to concentrate on what he really wanted to show Danny.

He slowly pulled his hands apart, stretching them out so as to see the image that was stretched between them. Before he could fully see it, he stretched it further and set it in front of him so he no longer held it; his mind was still connected to it.

"Who is that?" the girl asked breathlessly as they looked at the image which was slowly coming into focus.

"… It is my brother."

**...**

"Is that-?"

"Sh!" shushed Thor to Loki beside him, with a smile twinkling in his eyes. "Be silent." The pale god reddened considerably at this, though he remained quiet as his brother inched forward towards the beast in the clearing.

It was a Scoffin, a winged serpent that had great horns protruding from its head. Its green scales glinted as the sunlight hit them, sparkling like a dragon's hoard. The creature was currently nurturing its left wing that had been hit by one of Loki's bolts of magic.

Thor nodded to him, thinking that it would convey his thoughts perfectly; however, Loki thought differently.

The blonde planned that he would leap forward and attack the Scoffin forthright, while his brother would attack its other wing to prevent it from flying and making its escape. This, of course, was not the same thing that was running through his brother's mind.

Loki abruptly leapt forward in front of the serpent, yelling to it,

"Come closer, you derelict reptile! I dare you!" He aimed his spear towards it as if to shoot a charge of lightning at it; nothing happened, and he tried once again. It didn't work for a second time. Loki looked up worriedly at it, clutching his spear to his chest tightly; he knew not how to use it against this wild beast.

The Scoffin hissed at him, flapping its uninjured wing at him and readying itself to charge. Thor suddenly jumped in front of his brother as the creature finally began running across the clearing towards the two of them.

"Thor, no!" yelled Loki as the blonde was thrown against him by the power of the Scoffin's horns.

**...**

"Loki, no… NO!" The God of Mischief gave a half-hearted smile as he let go of the staff, leaving behind his so-called brother and father, shocked that he made such a strong decision.

**...**

"You give up this poisonous plan! You come home."

"I do not have it."

**...**

"I never wanted the throne, I only wanted to be your equal!"

**...**

"Why have you done this?"

"To prove to Father that I am a worthy son! When he wakes, I will have saved his life, I will have destroyed that race of monsters, and I will be true heir to the throne!"

"You can't kill an entire race!"

"Why not? And what is this new found love for the Frost Giants? You, who could have killed them all with your bare hands!"

"I've changed."

"So have I. Now fight me!"

**...**

"I will not fight you, brother."

"I am not your brother. I never was!"

**...**

"Loki, it was not your fault."

"What, that Father decided that all judgements made against me shall be unfair? Or that I am not to be a part of hunting because of this slight mishap?"

**...**

"Must you always hide in the library, Loki?" The god sat in a corner of the library, partially-hidden by the piles of books around him.

He did not reply to the blonde that was watching him from a distance, and only flipped another page in his book.

"Loki?" asked Thor quietly, stumbling over a book as he ventured closer towards his brother. "What is it?"

"Leave me alone," the other muttered, not even chancing a look up at him.

"What is it?" Thor finally sat down in front of Loki, not daring to take one of his hands though he desperately wanted to. "At least look at me."

The God of Mischief looked up defiantly at him, eyes watering.

There was a faint scar on his cheek below his right eye, running down to the side of his mouth. His left eye carried a dark blue bruise, and his bottom lip was split. Blood had dried over his face, making his normal, pale skin a ghastly red-brown.

"Why must they dislike me, brother?"

**...**

The images flickered past quickly, until with a gasp, Loki stopped them and they passed into nothingness.

"That was you… But your name is Loki? And is Thor your brother?"

"I need to be alone," he choked, tears streaming from his eyes unwillingly.

"Are you okay?" Danny asked softly, reaching out with a small hand. The god flinched away from her and stood up.

"Let me be." He began running away from her, knowing that it would be harmful to her if the girl was left alone, but he did not care.

Damn his brother to Hel and pray that they never met again. His kindness was a comforting blanket that Loki knew that he would never deserve. He should never have experienced it in the first place.

The god screamed at the trees around him as he stopped for a moment, seeing the stars scarcely hidden above him through the tree leaves. Why could not Thor be there to share what he felt, to ease the burden off his shoulders as he always had?

Or was that just the selfishness of Loki that veiled from him that he now had to deal with his own problems? For that was what his banishment had done to him. It had made him realize that he had to take care of his own problems from now on.

The god had to let go of Thor, of this attachment that constantly plagued him. But it was so hard to let go of someone who had been there all of his life, who had taken care of him when he had needed to be looked after.

**...**

Thor had been leaning against a tree, but had slid to the ground as he saw Loki collapse between the trees and begin to scream. His fingers itched to reach toward him, to wrap his arms around the god and tell him everything was okay.

That was what he had done all of his life; he had tried to make his brother feel at home, even when everyone else shunned him. It hurt Thor to know that he could not comfort Loki for the first time in his life.

Bu then, hadn't there been times when the raven-haired god had been past comforting, when he had shoved him aside to take over the world?

It didn't matter to him anymore. He wanted to take Loki by the hand and lead him away from this, all of this, to drag him somewhere where he would be safe with the warrior god; maybe even for the rest of eternity.

Was this Odin's punishment for him? To prove Thor wrong in the fact that Loki could not be saved? To teach him that the All-Father was right in this matter?

"Forgive me, Loki, but you must learn that I cannot solve all of your problems."

With these words, he unhappily stood up and turned away from his brother, frowning angrily so that he did not begin to cry. All of his efforts were in vain, and he did not attempt to stay silent.

Thor began to cry.


	9. I'm Solving My Own Problems

**Here is the long-awaited Chapter 9! I am so sorry that it took so long for me to upload this, but I had a Maths test to study for, and an English essay to write. I tried to make this chapter longer as well, but that didn't turn out so great.**

**And in my rush to upload this, I understand that it might still be a little rough around the edges. But I probably won't be getting around to uploading Chapter 10 for a few weeks (sorry!)**

**The good news is that I will be working on my other fan-fiction a little bit, so you can distract yourselves with that. Reviews are welcome, as always. PM me if there's anything you think I should change. **

**Thank you!**

* * *

Loki ashamedly wiped his nose with a sniffle on his leather jacket sleeve, lifting himself up off of the ground. To be helpless like this reminded him of when he had been a child, and those memories, unlocked only moments ago, were not to be remembered without care.

He did not know how he had lost control his memories like that and accidentally shown Danny what he had thought was long-forgotten. And then, he had left her in the middle of a large park, when it was dark, and where anyone could take advantage of her.

All he could think of that was that he should never had taken advantage of the girl and her mother's hospitality and instead should have attempted to make his own way in the world. And besides, when had Loki, of all gods, needed anybody's help?

The God of Mischief straightened up from his slouched position and tried to wipe away the new tears from his reddened face; he was no longer a helpless being, and he needed no-one to make his way in the world for him. He was Loki, and he was alone.

**…**

Thor was not one to cry, even in desperate situations; there was a solution to every problem, something which he had learned at a very young age. But when it came to family, he could not bar his emotions.

That was how he thought of Loki; as family. They had been through so many things together, and when the blonde had kissed Loki...

Maybe when the god was dreaming, he could visit him once again. He would have to be careful though, in case the ravenette decided to wake up and attack him. That must be what Loki wanted to do.

Thor hated how there was so much conflict in his life at the moment, but in a way, it was teaching him a valuable lesson; that Loki had to learn to deal with his own problems instead of loading them onto everyone else, especially Thor.

**...**

He would take Danny back to her mother, and then he was going to leave the two of them alone. He must have caused them so much strife, just turning up and loading all of his problems onto them. Well, he hadn't really discussed his problems, but just his presence must be a burden.

Loki leant so readily on those around him simply because they wanted to support him. Or maybe it was just in his mind that he thought that they wanted to help.

He once again wiped away tears and headed in the direction to where he had thought that he had left Danny. While deep in thought, he did not notice the cloak of red that flashed to his left. He had to think about where he was going to live and how to survive. Already his stomach was grumbling, and he tried to quiet it unsuccessfully.

"Danny? Where are you?" he yelled loudly, scouting the abundant forest around him. The girl had vanished into thin air, and Loki was worried as to what had happened to her. Had another person happened upon her and stolen her away?

"Lieth?" said a timid voice from behind him and he spun around instantly, shoulders sagging in relief as he saw that it was Danny.

"Danny. I am sorry that I ran away, it was unwise of me to leave you alone."

"That's okay. It was a little scary being left alone here, but I was okay. It wasn't your fault at all."

"That's nice of you to say, Danny, but I should never have left you by yourself. Shall we go back to your mother's now? There is something that I would like to discuss with both of you." The little blonde girl tugged at one of her pigtails worriedly and looked up at him.

"Can we go out for ice-cream before then?"

"What is 'ice-cream'?"

"You have to try it," the child said with a wide smile, taking him by the hand and dragging him onto the moon-lit path. Loki was only just beginning to realize the beauty of Midgard, which it held not in true, untempered nature but in alien creation. He breathed in the night flowers scent along with the smog, and welcomed them both.

He had already made up his mind about what he was going to do. Odin could be either happy or annoyed with his decision, but it would not change his mind. And if Thor showed up... As usual, he would change everything.

**...**

Loki was in happy spirits when he arrived back at the apartment with Danny, cheerfully remembering the ice-cream that he had tried. It was unparallel to any other dessert that he had tried before. And there were different flavors as well!

"We're home, Mommy!" shouted the blonde girl, rushing ahead of him to hug her mother happily. "Lok- Lieth took me out for ice-cream!"

"Did he? That was nice of you, Lieth." Valerie smiled as the man awkwardly leant against one wall and tried to look casual.

"There was something that I wanted to discuss with the two of you, but I believe that Danny is weary and would like to go to bed so we may talk privately?"

"Go on, honey," said the woman, patting the girl on the head and pushing her gently towards the stairs. "Don't forget to brush your teeth!"

"I won't!" yelled the child back as she ran up the stairs, leaving behind Loki and Valerie to speak to each other.

"We should probably sit down in the kitchen," she offered, walking through the archway and shivering as her bare feet touched the cold linoleum that covered the kitchen floor. She sat down on one of the wooden chairs and watched as the ravenette man slid fluidly into the chair opposite her. "So, what was it that you wanted to talk about?"

"I have taken advantage of both yours and Danny's hospitality long enough. Leaving tonight would be the best option for me to tak-"

"You're leaving?" interrupted Valerie incredulously. "I don't mind if you stay here a little longer." She blushed at how desperate her words sounded even in her ears and dreaded how they must have sounded to Lieth.

"It is fine," he said with a smile. "I thank you for everything you have done for me in the past few days, and I wish you the best in the future. Maybe I will meet you at some later date."

"Is there any way that I can convince you to stay?"

"Unfortunately, no. Tell Danny that I am sorry, and... Give her this." He pulled a small, thin object out of his pocket. "I... She will understand once she uses it for the first time. Again, thank you, Valerie." He rose up from his seat with his unusually casual grace and reached out for her hand that rested on the table.

He lifted it to his mouth, cold lips burning it for a few seconds before he dropped it and abruptly left her alone in the kitchen.

**...**

Thor watched this whole ordeal, praising his brother in his own, silent way and followed him out into the corridor. There were some many questions circling in his mind;

Where was Loki going?

How was he going to survive?

Did this act of leaving allow him to return to Asgard?

What was he planning to do?

**...**

After standing outside the door for a matter of minutes, Loki sighed and tried to piece together a plan of what he was going to do. The first thing he had to do was find a place to stay for the night. The second thing he had to do was find a place to live. And thirdly...

Did he really want to confront Thor still? The god nodded to himself as he stepped into the lonely elevator; that was one thing that he had definitely decided upon, and one thing that he was definitely going to do.

He pushed the ground floor button and continued to wallow in the shallow thoughts of what he was going to do. It was too late in the night for him to find a permanent place to stay, but was there anyone on Midgard who liked him enough to let him stay?

**...**

"Who is it?"

There was yet another group of persistent knocks as Steve groaned and lifted himself up off the couch where he must have dozed of for the night. He tiredly opened the door and peeked outside with bleary eyes.

"May I come in?"

"... Loki? What are you doing here in the middle of the night?"

"The receptionist downstairs was nice enough to let me up here once again, which surprised even me. I swear that she will do anything to get rid of me."

Captain groaned and opened the door wider to admit the god.

"Fine, you're allowed inside."

"I see that you have graciously put some pants on since the last time that I saw you." The other man blushed and straightened the creases out of his pajama pants.

"That doesn't matter. What exactly are you doing here?"

"I'm staying the night."

"Wait, what?" He watched incredulously as Loki sat down on his couch, then stretched his long legs across it as if he owned the place. "No, no, no, what if one of the other Avengers show up and see you here?"

"And what would an Avenger be doing, showing up at your 'secret hideout'?" the god asked, raising an eyebrow questionably.

"N-nothing. But it could happen, you know?"

"Come now, Steve. I have nowhere else to stay, and it is only for the night. I am sure that my presence will not bother you in the slightest." Captain attempted to come up with the words, to tell him to leave, but he couldn't.

"Fine," he sighed. "But you have to promise not to... mischief anything." He waved a hand vaguely. "No pranks at all."

"Is that it?" asked Loki with a hint of amusement in his voice. "You have my word, then. No pranks."

"Good. I can grab you some spare blankets from my cupboard and you can sleep on the couch. That okay with you?" The ravenette nodded vaguely and closed his eyes, presumably to start daydreaming. Rogers sighed and walked slowly down the hallway.

If someone showed up at his apartment, they would kill the traitor that was currently reclining on his sofa. Captain wouldn't wish that on anybody, and Loki hadn't tried to kill him. Yet. Besides, who was going to show up?

"Tony," he whispered to himself, pulling at a jammed blanket angrily. The man was always coming to annoy him at the most inopportune times, and he somehow managed to bypass his locked door almost magically. Steve had long ago given up trying to keep him out, and simply accepted the fact that the billionaire had easy access to his apartment.

More angry thoughts entered his mind and he pulled harder at the blanket; this only succeeded in a large pile of sheets and blankets launching themselves at him and crushing him beneath their weight as he fell to the floor.

It only took one easy swipe of his arm to dislodge them, but he was still grumpy about the mess he had made. Captain was a tidy person, and messes annoyed him.

The super soldier picked up a few blankets and began carrying them into the lounge, sighing at the mess he was leaving behind him.

"Here are the blankets- what the hell?"

"What?" Loki asked innocently, looking up from the couch where he appeared not to have moved.

The only thing he was wearing was a pair of dark green boxers, and the god appeared not to be miffed by Rogers exceedingly reddening face. Even he was shocked at his reaction. Was it that strange that Loki had... undressed?

"Where are your clothes?"

"I magicked them away. Why do you seem so shocked at my attire? Isn't this the way you were dressed before?"

"Yes, it's just that... Look, here are some blankets." He cautiously handed them to the god, who took them with a grin. "The bathroom is the first door on the right down the hallway. The kitchen is at the end of the hallway if you turn right through that archway. And my bedroom is at the opposite end of the hallway if you need me."

"I'm sure that I won't need to knock on your door, but thank you for the offer." Loki pulled the blankets over him and waved him away.

Steve left on that note, hoping that Stark would not deem him worthy of a 'daily visit' in the morning.

**...**

Loki lay there, staring up at the ceiling dreamily, counting the cracks in it. He was casually pondering old memories when Thor appeared from nowhere.

"I knew you would come."

"I know. I can't help you get back in Asgard."

"It is nice simply to see a familiar face." The blonde sat down on the couch opposite him, making the other god turn onto his side to look at him. "So, why are you here then?"

"I asked Father to send me here to keep an eye on you."

"That wasn't the only reason though, was it? I remember my 'dream' perfectly clear." The God of Thunder had the curtesy to blush at this statement.

"I may have been... rash, in what I did the other night, and I apologize for that."

"Why are you apologizing?" Loki propped his head up on one elbow to have a better look at him. "Do you regret it?" There were a few moments of silence where only their breathing was to be heard before Thor answered,

"No."

"Then what are you apologizing for?" Loki sat up on the sofa and continued to stare intensely at the Asgardian prince.

"We were brothers-"

"We were never brothers," the ravenette said softer than he had first intended. The blonde sat there quietly before making an internal decision and went to sit next to Loki.

"Loki, do you mean to say-"

"Nothing needs to be said here, Thor." The God of Thunder suddenly leaned over and cautiously kissed him, the two of them closing their eyes together.

Loki's lips immediately warmed and he suddenly realized just how cold he was, even with the blankets, and he pressed himself closer to Thor; the prince was the perfect temperature.

"Are you sure of this, brother?" The God of Mischief did not bother to correct the blonde as he pulled him back for a longer and deeper kiss.

"Yes," he whispered throatily against Thor's mouth, feeling himself be pushed back down onto the sofa. The prince gently pulled the blankets off of him and they slid to the floor stealthily without a sound. He began kissing down Loki's neck as the god clicked his fingers and the other's clothes, except for his boxers, disappeared.

The God of Mischief's skin began to darken slightly as the cold hit his skin, and he strived to pull Thor closer to him as he hungrily kissed him again, tongue delving into the other's mouth to explore.

The prince's rough fingers ran gently down his side, stroking the silk boxers over his ivory skin.

"I will not regret this, Loki," he whispered once the Traitor had pulled his tongue out of his mouth, and the god laughed.

"Good. Then hurry up and take me already."


	10. Chapter 10: Hidden But Revealed

**Oh, I am SO sorry that I haven't updated this lately! I feel really bad that I didn't. The thing is that my file for this chapter was deleted, which set me back a lot, and then I had end of year exams, also set me back, and then there was the fact that I'm supposed to cut back on Internet and stuff -_-**

**Anyway, I'll try to update sooner, but I'm going on a vacation soon, and I won't have regular Internet access D': But there's only one more chapter to go, so I should be able to finish it before then. Oh, and by the way, I am going be unoriginal and write a sequel to this about all of the Avengers and their relationships and stuff.**

**This isn't even really a Thorki chapter, but I'll let you read on and see what it's about ;P Reviews are always welcome**

* * *

Steve was an early riser, in accordance with normal military routine. There were some habits that you couldn't break out of, he thought roughly to himself as he tried to gather enough of his thoughts to sweep back the coverlet.

He suspected that his recent house guest would still be asleep on the couch, much to his discomfort. Loki hadn't tried to murder him in his sleep, which was surprising for a god that was supposed to be a villain, and especially so for one that had recently tried destroying the city. Not many things that Loki had done made sense to the soldier. And it wasn't exactly his place to judge, anyway.

Stretching his muscles, Captain pulled himself out of bed with little effort; the clock on his bedside table read 8. He hoped that Tony would show up this morning on some useless excuse about how 'he had to get back into the world' and 'interact with other human beings'. Right now he didn't really feel like that, which wasn't to say that he was depressed or anything; it just meant that he didn't feel that modern society was in need of another washed-up old soldier.

Massaging his forehead and dispelling the thoughts from his mind, the man strode slowly towards the door and swung it upon. He swept blonde strands of hair out of his eyes and cast a quick glance into the lounge as he passed by it.

A strange, strangling noise escaped his throat as he saw an awkward scene stretched out on his couch and, at the same time, he stubbed his toe on the doorway.

Hopping on one leg as he tried to stop the short and sharp pain stabbing through his toe, Steve attempted to avert his eyes; two naked gods were sprawled across his couch, half-covered by a woolen blanket.

As he looked on, the raven-haired one sleepily yawned and stretched like a cat over the other. Loki flicked up his eyes to the man in the doorway, who was awkwardly standing and not knowing exactly where he was supposed to look.

"Like what you see, Captain?" he purred, basking in his obvious discomfort and watching with pleasure as Steve's cheeks darkened into a beetroot-red tinge. Loki murmured a laugh under his breath, looking back down to his blonde lover. He alighted a kiss upon his lips to wake him up.

"It, uh, would be better if I could talk to you two if you were... fully dressed." Thor's eyelids fluttered slightly as he began to awake, though he was still oblivious about his surroundings.

"Loki? What is it?"

"Time to wake up, brother," whispered the god, smirking as he drew himself off of the other and sat up underneath the blanket. Steve averted his eyes in a polite way, waiting until he heard someone snap their fingers. He turned back, both of the gods dressed in their normal, Midgardian attire, which made him give a relieved sigh.

"Is there a reason why you have awoken us, Captain?" questioned the blonde giant, ruffling his hair lightly as he looked up to the man.

"You know that you can't stay here, don't you? There isn't enough room here, for one thing, not to mention I can't have the guy who tore up the island of Manhattan living with me. And Tony might show up as well..."

"Tony? The Man of Iron?" The soldier nodded, leaning up against the door frame. "But why?"

"He is a part of our team, Thor," he replied. Thor rubbed at his eyes, his face showing that he was trying to think of a solution. Loki, though, hardly looked bothered and was instead running his shirt through a kaleidoscope of different shades of green. "Is there anywhere else that you two might be able to go?"

"There is nowhere I can think of as of right now," groaned the God of Thunder, large hands covering his expression. "Last night I was not particularly thinking about where to go in the morning."

Before Steve could reply with advice, the doorbell rang loudly; his jaw snapped closed and he knew immediately who was at the door. A voice reverberated through into the room.

"Steve, I know you're up already, open the door. I brought coffee." Loki raised an eyebrow in what seemed like a seductive manner. It wasn't obvious what he was implying with that, so instead the soldier explained,

"Tony shows up sometimes, with his plans for the new Stark Tower. He wants my help with the design, so-"

"I'm sure that's all it is," interrupted the traitor, obviously not believing the man as he stood up from the couch and brushed himself down of dust. "Would you like us to make ourselves scarce for the duration of the meeting?"

"I don't think he'd be prepared to see you here, so I would say yes." Loki nodded, taking up his brother's hand to pull him up off the couch.

**...**

Steve opened the door cautiously, peeking around it.

"Oh, hey Tony. What are you doing here so early?"

"Pepper has some meetings set up for me the rest of today, so I thought it would be better if I came to see you early rather than missing more of Stark Industries meetings and risking the company collapsing. Are you going to open the door and let me in or just leave me standing out here?" The solider grinned and pulled the door wide open, gesturing him inside.

"Got anything new for the tower design yet?" Tony set the coffee tray down on the table as he pulled a tablet out of his jean pocket.

"I still need help with it, because it isn't just going to be me that's living here, in case you've forgotten."

If everything of Stark's was to go right, the entire team of Avengers was going to live in the tower with Iron Man and his girlfriend; it had been Fury's idea, and though Tony was always one to go against the S.H.I.E.L.D commander's orders, he had to agree that it was a good idea if the world was in need of more avenging in the future. If it was up to each and every one of them, they would be in separate parts of the world, and as of right now during the tower's reconstruction, they were.

"I don't see why it has to be me that helps me. I barely know you, let alone the rest of the team." Shrugging, the genius picked up his coffee cup, sipped from it, and set it back down as he pulled up the tablet's interface. He placed a clawed hand over the flat surface and drew it up, pulling out the tower design.

"You're the 'captain'." He began tapping miscellaneous buttons, frowning as he concentrated and entered a password. Just as he was about to select a room, he paused in the action. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" A cold sweat began to trickle down Steve's neck as he worried that one of the gods had made a sound. He cursed himself that he hadn't asked them to leave earlier.

"Something. It was probably you." Tony dragged out one of the floors. "Today I think that we'll move onto Thor's room." This time there was a definite cough, or maybe a choke, it wasn't that describable of a noise. The billionaire turned to look behind him. "You can't say that you honestly didn't hear that. Who are you hiding in your apartment, Steve?"

"No-one, it's nothing!"

"You are a terrible liar. Come out, whoever you are," he called out. There was no reply for a few minutes before Loki and Thor materialized out of thin air. Tony immediately stiffened when he saw the ebony-haired villain, jumping out of his seat but managing not to trip over the table. "What is _he_ doing here?"

"I, I was hiding him, from you guys," the captain mumbled poorly, already beginning to turn crimson. "I knew that you would over-react and you wouldn't lis-"

"That is the god who controlled an entire army and tried to take over the world! He destroyed my tower! And you expect me _not_ to over-react." He paused to catch his breath back from the yelling. "And why is Thor here? Is he in on this, too?"

"Friend, you must calm down," the blonde said, stepping around the sofa and clapping a hand on his shoulder. "Loki regrets what he did, and he is my brother. I will not let you harm him." The genius threw off his hand, expression sharp and disapproving.

"I'm not one to listen to Fury, but Loki is a certified threat to Earth, and I can't just let him wander around. And screw that he 'regrets' what he did; Caulson isn't exactly alive to help me argue my case!" Thor flinched at the statement; he didn't like to remember that one of his mortal friends had been murdered by his brother, right in front of his eyes. Loki's emerald eyes turned to slits as Tony said the next statement. "Without your brother here to protect you, I wouldn't hesitate to knock out a few of your teeth."

"You wouldn't be able to touch me," he hissed, hands clenching themselves into fists. "I could kill you in an instant, if I didn't see what you feel right now." For once, Stark let a spark of bafflement show in his eyes. "Oh, you think I'm blind? What's the real reason for you showing up at Steve's house every morning? And what shall you do when the tower design is finished?"

"What is he talking about, Tony?" The man's face had solidified into an unreadable glare aimed directly at the traitor.

"Shut it. Now." Smirking as he realized that he was finally getting under the billionaire's skin, he continued on.

"So, how long has it been? Since you first met him or did it take a little while for it to kick in?"

"You better shut up now, before I make you." Thor held back the shorter man easily with one hand as he went to harm Loki.

"Loki, stop. There is no reason for you to provoke him." The traitor bared his teeth, pacing calmly behind the couch as he took on a clearly false, provocative look.

"Why do you not simply tell the man? Does it choke you up whenever you go to admit it? Maybe you should tell him before I tell him for you." Tony drew a breath through his clenched teeth, shocked.

"You wouldn't dare..."

"You've seen what I am capable of. Well, Steve, would you like to hear what your companion really thinks of you? That he is, in fact, lo-" The genius went to leap across the couch, threatening to strangle Loki before both of the other men pulled him back.

"I still don't know what you're talking about," the soldier spoke up, letting go of Tony but still waiting for an answer.

"I was planning on telling when I thought it wouldn't frighten you, or ruin our friendship. Obviously, that's out of the question when this bastard is around." Loki mouthed, 'Bite me' with a grin. "Anyway, what it was about was, the fact that, I like you a lot more than I really should."

Now Steve was even more confused than he had been before; his friend seemed reluctant to say, and he was nervous now, which he never was. What had he meant by that?

"I don't get it."

"You don't get many things," joked the man sarcastically, finally managing to meet his eye. "You should know what I mean, Steve, even if you were frozen for years. You remember Peggy, don't you?" A shiver ran down the soldier's spine and his azure eyes turned a darker shade of ice-cold.

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"What you felt for her... Is what I am beginning to feel for you." Tony broke the gaze and brushed past Thor on his way to the window. Nobody said a word, though Loki watched the information register in the captain; he'd always been interested in human emotion, and now was a perfect example.

"Oh... _Oh." _

"I believe that it is time that we leave them alone," ordered Thor, already grabbing his brother around the shoulders and dragging him towards the door.

"But wait, I want to-"

"Leave them alone, Loki. You've done enough damage for today." Loki stopped struggling and instead rested his head on the blonde's shoulder as he allowed himself to be led away.

That left Steve and Tony to resolve their new issues, and neither seemed very eager to do so.


End file.
